147 rounds of applause and cheers: the women celebrated enthusiastically as they received their diplomas. They used to be laundresses or housemaids for the rich in Arabia. Now the mothers celebrated the completion of their training: thanks to Menschen für Menschen and Agocha they are now proud graduates. A former graduate, who now runs her own daycare center, reported how valuable her knowledge is.
For six months, 147 women took part in a training course in housekeeping run by Agocha and supported by Menschen für Menschen. In the future, they will be able to look after themselves and their children independently. The training enjoys a good reputation. The training center has good networks with employers, which is why graduating is almost a guarantee of a job. Most of them soon have permanent jobs, in hotel service, in restaurant kitchens or as carers in daycare centers.
Some of the women would prefer to start their own business, such as a catering service that they can run from home so that they can also look after their small children there. But all of the women leave the classrooms with new-found self-confidence - this was evident in the speeches and also in the confident faces at the ceremonial awarding of the certificates in early January.
Woinshet Derje, who had completed her training six months previously, gave additional confidence. She reported her success to the festival crowd. The mother of three used her new knowledge of childcare to ask the city administration for funding for her business idea: with a small public loan, she was able to open a daycare center in her house. She now looks after seven small children there. The facility has already created an additional job: Woinshet has hired an assistant.
«Educating women means driving the development of the country forward,» sang some of the graduates in a specially prepared little play. «We can change our lives and make a difference - for ourselves and society.» The refrain stuck in the festival congregation's ears as a motto for the future: «Yes, we can!»
In total, 295 women trained as home economists in 2024. 148 women had already received their certificates in the summer. This brings the total number of women who have completed the training thanks to the support of our aid organization to 2005.
Menschen für Menschen will continue the program togehter with Agocha. The training - and thus the creation of life prospects for a mother and her children - costs around 250 francs per participant. The application and admission phase for the 39th course is currently underway, in mid-January 2025. The admission criteria for the women is their declared hard work and their particular poverty.
Woinshet Derje, the successful founder, has named her business "Efoye Nursery". The word "Efoye" can be translated as "calm" or "stability". A state that all graduates want to achieve - and can now achieve.
